THE BANFF AND JASPER COMMISSION REPORTS
These two significant books have come about as a result of the ministry of Ascension Lutheran Church in Calgary, Canada. The congregation authorized their Pastor, K. Glen Johnson, to establish an international ecumenical commission to analyze the current theological morass that confronts the Lutheran and other churches of our day with particular reference to the same sex-debate and the turmoil and division that are occurring at every level of the church’s life.
In the first book, THE BANFF COMMISSION, participating scholars wrestle
with the biblical and theological issues surrounding the questions asked by Ascension Church:
“Are we being directed by the Holy Spirit to a whole new vision of inclusion
similar to the inclusion of the Gentiles or has something like Marcionism in
another guise returned to haunt us, or are we faced with some form of revisionist
theology, or are we confronting new forms of idolatry, or even apostasy?”
Commission members whose papers appear in the first report are K. Glen Johnson, Convener of the Commission and Editor; Robert Benne, Director of the Roanoke College Center for Religion and Society; Reinhard Slenczka, Professor Emeritus at the University of Erlangen, Germany; James A. Nestingen, Retired Professor of Church History at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Patrick Henry Reardon, Pastor of All Saints Orthodox Church, Chicago and Senior Editor of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity; and J. Larry Yoder, Professor of Theology at Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC.
In the second book, THE JASPER COMMISSION, the focus is hands on ministry and witness to the gay community. Here Commission participants were asked to “determine how the church can, both in love and respect for this community, and in faithfulness to the Word of God and it’s teaching, conduct a faithful and effective ministry to those in that community.”
Commission members whose papers appear in the second report are Phillip E. Gagnon, Pastor of St. Albert Lutheran Church, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada; Joseph Nicolosi, Licensed Psychologist and Founder and Clinical Director of the Thomas Aquinas Psychological Clinic in Encino, CA; Lee Griffin, Retired Psychiatrist who taught Pastoral Care at Wartburg and Luther Theological Seminaries; Merton P. Strommen, Founder of Search Institute and a Fellow in the American Psychological Association; Victor Mollerup, Psychiatrist with over thirty years of experience in hospital and community practice; and James A. Nestingen, Retired Professor of Church History at Luther Seminary.
